# Baseball question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 15, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/168972 "2003-04-15T23:23:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/168972/21 "2003-04-16T16:56:11Z")
Wow, I guess this is why I read the SD. I’m a baseball fan and I have always thought that a “walk-off homerun” was a game-winning homerun by a _pinch hitter_. Was anyone else under this impression or have I just been sadly misinformed all of these years? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/168972/22 "2003-04-16T16:56:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Quercus \* > \*\*Or has the Institution of Baseball, in its wisdom, already closed this loophole? \*\* If the Institution of Baseball _had_ any wisdom, the Designated Hitter experiment would have been called off **years** ago, and I would be able to be happy for the team in the town where I live. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/168972/23 "2003-04-16T17:21:16Z")
If the defensive team leaves the field and the batter is discovered to have missed a base, the defensive team loses its right to appeal the play. If both teams have to leave the field because everyone is coming on to the field, the rules now provide for the home run to be counted even though all the bases are not touched. (a la Chris Chambliss in 1976) ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/168972/24 "2003-04-17T06:47:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by fiddlesticks \* > \*\*I believe Babe Ruth got at least one homer added to its lifetime total thanks to this correction. \*\* I don’t think so. He’s still at 714. Meanwhile, Hank Aaron would have 756 homers, except an umpire once called him out when he hit a home run because the ump ruled Hank stepped out of the batter’s box when he swung. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/168972/25 "2003-04-17T13:51:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Polycarp \* > \*\*If I am not mistaken, if the game-winning home run batter does not circle the bases and touch each one, a member of the defensive team can request a ball from the umpire, tag the base he missed, and have him declared out – with consequent adjustment of the final score and perhaps the need to continue the game. So “walk-off” is in fact a misnomer. > > I welcome correction or clarification of this if I’m in error. \*\* No, Poly, you’re right. And this has the consequence that, if there were two outs and the defensive team tagged first with the new ball, no runs would score and the game would continue. Note, however, that if the hit is NOT a home run and the winning run scores the hitter will normally only be charged with a hit sufficient to drive home the winning run. Man on third. Tie game. Batter smacks on down the line that goes to the wall. Runner scores. Even though the hit would normally result in a double the batter is credited with a single. ---
**Author:** ![Zelski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c67d28/32.png) [@Zelski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zelski)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/168972/26 "2003-04-17T17:32:47Z")
I don’t like the term walkoff, either, but I see a difference between ‘walkoff’ and ‘game-winning.’ Game-winning does not imply game-ending while walkoff does. I have seen game recaps that refer to a home run in the sixth inning as the game-winner (because no runs were scored in the 7th, 8th, and 9th) but that doesn’t mean the game ended in the sixth! To me, the meaning of walk-off includes ending the game after that play. ---
**Author:** ![Pashnish\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8797f3/32.png) [@Pashnish\_Ewing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pashnish_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/168972/27 "2003-04-17T17:52:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jonathan Chance \* > \*\*Note, however, that if the hit is NOT a home run and the winning run scores the hitter will normally only be charged with a hit sufficient to drive home the winning run. > > Man on third. Tie game. Batter smacks on down the line that goes to the wall. Runner scores. Even though the hit would normally result in a double the batter is credited with a single. \*\* To expand on what **Jonathan Chance** said above, the “hit sufficient to drive home the winning run” is determined by how many bases the runner had to advance in order to reach home. Furthermore, the batter must actually advance to the extra base(s) in order to be credited with the extra-base-hit. Runner on _ **second** _. Tie game. Batter smacks one down the line that goes to the wall. Runner scores. Batter is mobbed by teammates after rounding first and never touches second. Batter is credited with a single. Pash ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/168972/28 "2003-04-17T18:46:25Z")
OK, how about this, then? Bottom of the ninth, tie game. Bob is on third, and Joe is up to bat. Joe slams the ball into the next county. Bob, in a display of confidence, strolls leisurely to home. Meanwhile, Joe was taught by his mother to always give it his all, even if it’s not necessary, and Joe’s got some legs on him, so he races 'round the bases like a madman. Joe passes third just before Bob reaches home. Now, under the new rules, that would just be a plain home run and it wouldn’t matter, but under the old rules, would that be a single or a triple for Joe? ---
**Author:** ![Payton\_s\_Servant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@Payton\_s\_Servant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Payton_s_Servant)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/168972/29 "2003-04-17T18:47:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BobT \* > \*\*If both teams have to leave the field because everyone is coming on to the field, the rules now provide for the home run to be counted even though all the bases are not touched. (a la Chris Chambliss in 1976) \*\* No. Chris Chambliss came back onto the field with a police escort and an umpire and tagged the area that used to contain home plate. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/168972/30 "2003-04-17T19:27:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chronos \* > \*\*OK, how about this, then? Bottom of the ninth, tie game. Bob is on third, and Joe is up to bat. Joe slams the ball into the next county. Bob, in a display of confidence, strolls leisurely to home. Meanwhile, Joe was taught by his mother to always give it his all, even if it’s not necessary, and Joe’s got some legs on him, so he races 'round the bases like a madman. Joe passes third just before Bob reaches home. > > Now, under the new rules, that would just be a plain home run and it wouldn’t matter, but under the old rules, would that be a single or a triple for Joe? \*\* Damn good question. Here’s my take. Any batter-runner (Joe) that passes a runner (bob) is out out out. So the third out is made. If Bob has not yet scored then the inning is dead at that point. Extra innings and Bob beats Joe to death with his own bat. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/168972/31 "2003-04-17T21:25:05Z")
Joe passed third, Joe didn’t pass Bob. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/168972/32 "2003-04-17T21:34:47Z")
I forgot to add that _after_ the Chambliss incident the rules were modified so you wouldn’t have to go back and touch home under police escort. Yes, Chambliss did touch home. ---
**Author:** ![bradwalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@bradwalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bradwalt)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/168972/33 "2003-04-17T22:13:21Z")
Thank you Fiddlesticks for being the only person to clairify the confusion: It’s the defensive team that walks off the field! Nobody else in this whole thread said it! ---
**Author:** ![Pashnish\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8797f3/32.png) [@Pashnish\_Ewing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pashnish_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/168972/34 "2003-04-17T23:13:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ZenBeam \* > **Joe passed third, Joe didn’t pass Bob.** > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RickJay \* > \*\*At some point in baseball history this was NOT the case; many years ago it was true that you only got credit for a hit as large as was needed to end the game. It has not been that way for many years, though. \*\* Taking **RickJay** at his word (which seems the prudent thing to do concerning all matters baseball), Joe would have been credited with a single since the winning run only advanced one base. Joe (and his handle bar mustache) will live to play another day (game). Pash ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/168972/35 "2003-04-18T01:19:20Z")
The game-winning hit rule (which turned home runs into singles/doubles/triples) was changed in 1920. Certainly not a coincidence that this rule was added at the dawn of the Babe Ruth/Please Forget About the Black Sox era. Note Rule Change #7 on this page… [http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/schwarz\_alan/1503763.html](http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/schwarz_alan/1503763.html) The situation that Mr. Schwarz uses to explain the rule seems to be incorrect though. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/168972/36 "2003-04-18T05:53:12Z")
Schwarz says there was a runner on 3rd with 2 outs. It only takes a single to score him. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/168972/37 "2003-04-18T06:08:08Z")
He says the score is 4 for the visitors, 3 for the home team, man on third base. The situation he describes (ball over fence, batter is credited with a single) only works if the game is tied. In this case, the batter would be scored a homer because he is the winning run (provided no one else is on base). ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/168972/38 "2003-04-18T06:31:44Z")
Oh, you wanted me to read the WHOLE thing. Yeah, you do have a point there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question/168972.md?page=1)